Two Product Design students win Zinc Challenge international student design competition

Winning design by Bryce Lee ’22 (Product Design)
Two MIAD students were among the top three students recognized in the 2020-2021 Zinc Challenge Student Design Competition. Bryce Lee ‘22 (Product Design) and Szymon Salamon ‘22 (Product Design) each won a $2,000 prize for their designs. The faculty sponsor Pascal Malassigné, MIAD professor of product design, also received an $1,000 award for the college.
Bryce designed a fishing lure with zinc alloy sinkers, and Szymon redesigned a clothes hanger with zinc properties to replace plastic and wooden hangers.

Winning design by Szymon Salamon ’22 (Product Design)
This year’s competition was the 20th anniversary of the “Zinc Challenge” student design competition, hosted by the International Zinc Association. The competition tests students on their knowledge of zinc alloys and practical design for die casting. The contest is open to all undergraduate design students in Mexico, the United States and Canada.
The contest theme this year was material substitution, and students were challenged to recreated, redesign and redevelop an existing product in zinc to take advantage of the superior properties of zinc alloys and the zinc die casting process. More information on the competition is at diecasting.zinc.org.
News
Paris study abroad illuminates creative practice for students
Madison Boeder ’25 found that study abroad trips through the Milwaukee Institute of Art & Design (MIAD) resonated so strongly with their practice that the Fine Art + New Studio Practice major (Art History minor) went on two: Florence in 2024 and, this year, Paris.
Illustration & Animation rank top in state, highly in Midwest and U.S.
In Animation Career Review’s 2025 college rankings, the Illustration and Animation programs at the Milwaukee Institute of Art & Design were once again ranked number 1 in the state.
Art direction and alumni connection: Design student interns at Nike
This past summer, Olivia Nava ’26 (Communication Design) landed a fiercely competitive internship at athletic footwear and apparel brand Nike. Now that she’s back, the Milwaukee Institute of Art & Design (MIAD) senior reflects on the experience, and the MIAD classes and connections that prepared her for this opportunity.
MIAD gallery offers photo students contemporary perspectives
In the photo area of the Milwaukee Institute of Art & Design, where digital technology and the darkroom intersect, the Perspectives Gallery shines its own light on contemporary image makers.
Transformational reflection: Studying abroad in The Burren, Ireland
Each year, a group of Milwaukee Institute of Art & Design (MIAD) students spends four weeks in May investigating the Burren in County Clare, Ireland through text and image. Based at the Burren College of Art and led by Professor Leslie Fedorchuk and printmaker Matthew Presutti, the two-decade-long partnership between the colleges has produced meaningful reflection and transformational experiences for students.